NCJ Number
148606
Date Published
1993
Length
183 pages
Annotation
This volume analyzes current drug control policies and programs with respect to their rational and effectiveness and recommends policy changes.
Abstract
The analysis focuses on the contemporary context that influences policy responses to drug issues, the costs to society of drug abuse and various drug wars, the effectiveness of current policies and the criteria for determining effectiveness, the possible consequences of intensifying the present approaches, and alternative policy proposals. The analysis concludes that the current war on drugs has had some successes in reducing drug use and making the public less interested in using drugs, but its costs seem to outweigh its benefits. It recommends a different approach, starting with relaxing controls on pain-relieving drugs and continuing with extending marijuana use in areas where it has proven therapeutic value. The author recommends a close examination of broader view of drug use as a public health issue rather than a crime problem and considers legal and constitutional issues that must be addressed in policy changes. The discussion concludes that, overall, any new policy should promise more good than harm; the costs of changing should be more than offset by reductions in the cost of continuing the old policies. Chapter notes; appended summaries of Federal drug laws, list of reform-oriented organizations, and list of studies; index; and reference lists